1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an anchor for securing a building member such as a roof truss or other structural building member to a cementitious material such as a cementitious wall, and more particularly to a unitary, one piece truss anchor and a building structure incorporating such truss anchor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A wide variety of truss anchors currently exists in the art. Many of these are made of relatively light-weight metals with a two-piece construction comprising a generally elongated strap and a structural member seat which is riveted to the strap. In these structures, the lower end of the strap is designed for embedment into the concrete at the top of a wall and the upper end of the strap is intended to extend upwardly along the side of the truss and wrap over the top. Some are one-piece connectors. One of these has a plurality of offset anchoring legs embedded in the wall. Representative truss anchors for anchoring a roof truss or other structure to a concrete or masonry wall include U.S. Pat. No. 2,467,115 issued to Dugan, U.S. Pat. No. 2,947,119 issued to Puckett Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,603 issued to Chiodo and U.S. Pat. No. 6,560,943 issued to Leek.
Truss anchors of the type to which the present invention relates serve two primary functions. One is to provide a resistance to uplift which is of particular concern throughout many southern states where hurricanes and other high wind conditions are common. A second is to provide resistance to lateral forces, both lateral forces parallel to the wall and lateral forces perpendicular to the wall. Because many new homes and other structures are being built with relatively long truss spans, greater resistance to uplift and lateral forces is required.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a truss anchor which can meet these requirements.